Circular knitting machine



1940. A. E. PAGE ET AL 2,200.207

CIR IIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII NE O y 7 19 0 A. E. PAGE r:r AL 2,200,207

cmcvmm xnmmd MACHINE Fi1ed Sept. 14, 1938 4 Sheets-Sheet 2 0 INVENTORS ALBERT E. PAGE HARRY SWINGLEHURST, JR.

BY THEIR ATTORNEYS May 7, 1940. 5, PAGE 2,200,207

cmcumx KNITTING MACHINE Filed Sept. 14, 1938 4 Sheets-Sheet 3 BY THEIR ATTORN'Y S.

HARRY SWINGLEHURST JR.

7,1940. A. E. PAGE ET AL 2.200.207

CIRCULAR KNITTING MACHINE Filed Sept. 14, 1938 4 Sheets-Sheet 4 INVENTORS ALBERT E. PAGE'.

HARRY SWINGLEHURST, JR.'

BY THEIR ATTORNEYS Patented May 7, 1940 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFECE CIRCULR KNITTING MACHINE Application September M, 1938, Serial No. 229,970

13 Claims.

This invention relates to stitch slackening means for circular knittimg machines and more particularly to means for slackening stitches in spliced fabric areas of varying width, such as a cradle sole or tapered high splice in a stocking.

It has been known heretofore t slacken the stitches in the spliced areas of stockings in order to permit the introduction of sufficiently heaVy thread or threads in the stitches. One of the objects of the present invention is to make this slackenng possible where the width of the reinforcement varies from course to course and to make the slackening concide accurately with the limit of the splcing. It is characteristc of the present invention that the means for changing the stitoh Iength as the machine goes from the unslackemed stitches to the slackened stitches is controlled by the kntting instrumentalfies Which determine the extent of the spliced area.

The invention will be shown and described in a Scott & Williams revolving needle cylinder seamless hosiery machine containing rocking jacks and jack selecting means of the type shown in the patent to Ivan W. Grothey No. 1,678,385, dated July 24, 1928. The invention is embodied in a machine in which a splicing finger and knitting instrumentafits are brdught into and out of yarn engaging positions by raising needles selectively. 'Ihis gives difierentiati0n in the p0- sition of the butts of the jacks, and this differentaton is availed cf t0 cause the slackening operation.

In the drawings,

Fig. 1 is an elevation from the left side of a Scott & Williams machine containing the invention, showing mechanism for slackenng by means of the sinkers;

Fig. 2 is a view in side elevabion of the foot of a seamless stocking showing a cradle sole and irregular high splice with the s1ackened areas shaded;

Fig. 3 is a plan view of the lower bedplate of the machine of Fig. 1, taken on the line 3--3 of Fig. 1, showing the special cams for operating on the pattern jacks in connection with the slackening of the stitches;

Fig. 4: is a detail view in plan of the special drawdown cam lever connection to its thrust rcd;

Fig. 5 is a plan view of part of the sinker cap showing the sinker slackening cam of Fig. 1 and its contr0ls; y

Fig. 6 is a detail view in elevaticn from the right side of the machine showing the mounting of the swingflng bracket whch carres the special drawdown cam shown in Fig. 3;

Fig. 7 is a development of the cam ring viewed from the inside of the machine, showing the path of the pattern jacks whose butt difierentiation is used to control the stitch slackening, the .arrow showing the direction of movement of the needles and jacks; Whfle Fig. 8 is a perspective ske1eton view from the right rear of the machine showing a modified form of mechami5m for slackening the stitches, in which the slackening is caused by vertical movement of the stitch cam, the arrows indicating the direction of movement of the parts when going to stitch slackening position.

In the modern seamless stocking with its fine thread and with stitches as smal1 as desired in the unreinforoed areas, it is frequently impossible to crowd any splicmg threads at all into the stitches for the spliced areas without slackenng the stitches. If the stitches are slackened it is possible to get as much as five or six threads in the spliced stitches, and this is fiequently desirable. It has been known heretozore to slacken the stitches in local, i. e., sectional splid areas such as high splices or soles of seamless hosiery, but no satisfactory method has been known herc-- tofore of making such slackening conform accurately with the outlines of a spliced area whose width varies. Thus, for instance, in making a cradle sole in a stocking it has been exceedingly dificult tc devise any mechanism Which will cause all the splicing stitches to loe slackened, and on the other hand will not slacken any stitches which are not reiniord. The best method of making reinfomed areas of varying width is to use needle selecton for determining the needles whose stitches are to be reinf0lced. According to the present Invention, Vertical selection of the needles or their pattern jacks is availed of to give a butt difieremtiafion which is transmitted to one or another of the stitch-making elements to cause slackening of those specific stitches and those only. In the embodiment of the invention shown in Figs. 1 t0 7, the slackening is caused by extra movement of the sinkels, but in the modification of Fig. 8 the slackening is obtained by vertical movement of the knitting cam.

We will first describe the embodiment of Figs. 1 to 7, which is the preferred form. There are the usual main pattern drum E20, needle cylinder 260, lower bedplate Baud upper bedp1ate C. There are pattern jacks 732 controlled from the space between the lower bedplate B and the upper bedplate C, while the manipulation of the needles themselves takes place above the upper bedplate C. On the upper end of the needle cylinder is the usual outside sinker cap 300 in which are located the cams for *moving the sinkers S in between the needles N. As shown in Fig. 5, there is mounted in the sinker cap 300 a special push-in cam 309 which determines the extent of the inward thrust of the sinkers. This may be termed the sinker selecting cam. This cam 309 is normally held outwardly in its outward operating position by a tension spring 3l0 extending from the end of the cam to. a nearby post on the upper bedplate C (see Fig. 5). In

this position, a regular cam 308 draws yam for stitches which are to be normal in length. When it is desired to draw stitches of abnormal length in order to slacken the stitohes because they are reinforced, the cam 309 is moved inward until it contacts an adjustable guide 3 mounted on the cam ring.

We will now describe the mechanism controlled from the jacks which selects the needles to take the splicing yarn. This mechanism has for its primary control the main pattern drum |20. This primary control acts through one of the usual thrust rods 460 passing through the lower comb 45.| and held down in contact With the surface of the main pattern drum or the cam in its path by means of a tension spring 452 running between a notch in the thrust rod and the lower comb. Mounted on the thrust bar 460 just below the upper bedplate C is an adjustable cam plate 456 which pushes the upper end of the thrust bar radially outward When the bar is raised by a cam on the main pattern drum. This tipping of the thrust bar radially outward or away from the bedplate serves to insure that the sinker slackening cam 309 goes toits retracted position, shown in Fig. 5. The connections between the upper end of the thrust bar 460 and the sinker slackening cam 309 which make this possible are as follows. T0 push the sinker slackening cam inwards there is a sliding finger 453 carried by a plate 454 which is slidably mounted on the usual latch ring braoket 40|. There is a tension spring 455 extending between the latch ring bracket 40| and the upper end of the thrust bar 460 which tends to push the finger 453 radially inward against the sinker slackening cam 309. Since the flnger 453 is pivoted to the upper end of the thrust bar 460, it follows that when the thrust bar 460 is pulled away from the upper bedplate C, the flnger is retracted out of 'contact with the sinker slacken: ing cam 309 and that cam will be freed to be retracted by its own tension spring 3l0. The cams on the main pattern drum |20 lying in the path of this thrust bar 460 are so located as to hold the thrust bar in its uppermost position, where the sinker slackening cam is in its normal or retracted position, except when spliced areas are to be made. When spliced areas are to be made, the thrust bar drops down into the surface of the main pattern drum, and the upper end of the bar is pulled towards the upper bedplate C by the tension spring 455. This aise serves to release the thrust bar and the sinker slackening cam to be controlled by the secondary means which acts on each revolution of the machine to cause sectional or local splicing in accordance with the pattern jack selection.

The elements which transmit the jack butt differentiation to the thrust bar 460 comprise a bent arm pivotally mounted on the side of the thrust bar, with its lower end extending around tothe back of the thrust bar, where its exact angle 01 contact is determined by a set screw |86. The upper end of this bent arm |85 is attached to a connecting link |81 which in turn is connected to an operating lever l88 adapted to read the butts of the pattern jacks 132. This operating lever 88 is pivotally connected to a link |81 and is pivotally mounted at the opposite end on a post |89 projecting upwardly from an adjustable bracket |90 on the lower bedplate B 01 the machine. This bracket |90 is adjustable circumferentially of the machine and thus provides an adjustment for the operating lever l88 (see Fig. 3). These parts are so arranged that when the reading point |9| of the operating lever l88 rides up on a series of butts on the pattern jacks, the thrust bar 460 will be pushed away from the upper bedplate against the tension of spring 455, thus permitting the tension spring 3l0 to retract the sinker slackening cam 309 and prevent the drawing of slackened stitches. Whenever the reading point |9| of the operating lever l88 finds no pattern jack butt opposite it and it drops in towards the surface of the needle cylinder, the linkage |85 to l88 is relaxed and the tension spring 455 pulls the thrust rod in toward the upper bedplate C, pushing the sinker slackening cam 309 inwardly to the point where it W111 draw slack stitches.

We will now describe the mechanism which causes the pattern jack selection or butt difiEerentiation. The operating lever l88 is at the rear of the machine, as shown in the plan view of Fig. 3, and it is necessary to prepare the butt differentiation before the jacks get around to the operating lever. (The pattern jacks and needles revolve in a counterclockwise direction, as viewed from above.) As viewed inFig. 7, the jacks and the needles move from right to left, and the reading point |9| of the operating lever 88 is shown about the center of the drawing. In the particular embodiment shown in Figs. 1 to '1, the cams and butts are so arranged that butts on all pattern jacks Whose needles are not going to take the splicing yarn W111 be placed at a slightly lower level than usual and at this level they will meet the reading point |9| of the operating lever l88. This preparation takes place at a point almost in advance of the position of the point .|9| of the operating lever. Near this point there is a pattern jack raising cam 14| adapted to raise all pattern jacks whose lower ends were not pressed radially inward by the appropriate selecting means (not shown) shortly prior to arriving at this raising cam 14|. Jacks thus raised cause their needles to take the splicing yarn. The machine is set so that the lower ends of the jacks whose needles are not taking splicing yarn are pressed radially inward, and 'these jacks will not be raised on the cam 14|, which in turn causes the raising ci. the needles to a level where they can take the splicing yarn. Near the middle of each pattern jack is a lowering butt 131, 131, se located that when a jack does not ride up the raising cam 14| it Will be acte'd on by a special drawdown cam I5. The butts on the non-splicing needle jacks are marked 131, and the butts on the jacks for the splicing needles,131. The drawdown cam |5 is adapted to lower jacks t0 a point say of an inch lower than the normal level, and at this level the butts 131 on the jacks are at the same level as the operating lever l88. The levelling cam 152 holds them up to this level. After passing cam l5 the levelling cam 153 brings the butts 131 to normal level. This drawdown cam |5 is located 2,200,207 at a point shortly following the maximum height of the cam 14|, and it lowers all jacks which did not rise on cam 14|, but does not touch those which did go up that cam (see Fig. 6). The jacks which rose up the cam 14| came down to their normal level beyond the cam |5 and therefore the operating lever |88 is not engaged by the butts 131 on the jacks which took the splicing yarn.

From an examination of Fig. 7 it will be seen that the raising of certain pattern jacks 132 on the cam 14| in order to cause their associated needles to take the splicing yarn occurs in the same course of fabric as the slackening of sinkers caused by the operating lever |88. (The stitch cam 360 is almost directly above the reading point |9|.)

The drawdown cam |5 itself is mounted on a swinging bracket |92 pivoted on a bracket carring the cam 14|. The're is a tension spring |93 between the upper portion of the bracket l 92 and the bracket on the bedplate tendng to keep the drawndown cam in retracted position. There is a long horizontal lever |94 pivotally mounted on the bedplate near the rear (see Fig. 3), whose rear end hooks around a cam 95 on the upper end of a thrust bar 46| (see Fig. 4). When the thrust bar 46| is lowered, the long lever |95 .drawdown cam |5 into swings and pushes the drawndown cam 5 into its operative position where it will lower those jacks whose needles are not taking splicing yarn. This causes the necessary butt difl'erentiation above referred to.

The construction of the embodiment of Figs. 1 to 7 having been described, its operation will now be set forth. Assuming that the machine has reached the point where it is desired to make a stepped high splice or a cradle sole, the pattern chain will cause the main pattern drum |20 to rack ahead in the usual manner. This causes the thrust bar 460 to drop down onto the surface of the main pattern drum, which releases it from camming action of the adjustable cam 456, releasing the thrust bar and sinker slackening cam 309 to the secondary control means associated with the butts 131. Simultaneousl the thrust bar 46| drops down sufliciently far to cause the long lever |04 to push the special its operative position. As soon as the jack selecting mechanism goes into action, some of the pattern jacks start riding up the cam 14| to take splicing yarn. In this way a space will be created in the row of butts at the level of the reading point |9|, the butts 131 for the spliced stitches being above the lever |88. As soon as this space in the butts reaches the reading point I 9|, the operating lever I will move in towards the surface of the pattern cylinder, pulling the thrust bar 460 radially inward and causing the nger 453 to push the sinker slackening cam 300 inward to the point where it will draw slack stitches. As soon as the section or group of jacks corresponding to needles which take the splicing yarn have passed the cam 14|, jacks having butts 131 at the level of the reading point |9| will some around and push the reading point I! radially outward again. This will push the thrust bar 460 rad ally outward and the tension spring 3|0 will pull the sinker slackening cam 309 radially outward again.

It will be obvious that in this waythe jacks selected the needles which were to take the splicing yarn and that then the same selection 'of jacks operated the sinker slackening cam. In other words, the individual knitting instrumentalities which control the splicing themselves individuallv control the width of the slackening and not only will every spliced stitched be slackened, but only those stitches will be slackened.

It is possible to use this butt diierentiation to control other of the stitch-making means to give the different length of stitch. Thus in Fig. 8 is shown an alternative construction in which the butts of the pattern jacks are used to control the positions of the stitch cam 360 and in this way vary the length of stitch. In this construction, as in the previous one, the jacks which are raised to cause their needles to take the reinforcing yarn are not drawn down all the way so that the operating lever 88 will be held radially outward by the jacks of the needles which take the splicing' yarn and the stitch cam will be lowered slightly to draw slacker stitches. In Fig. 8 we have shown only those parts which are necessary to illustrate the diierences between the constructions of Figs. 1 to 7, and that of Fig. 8. It will be observed that the butts 131, 131 of the pattern jacks corne around to the reading point |9| of the operating lever les at two levels, as in the case of the mechanism of Figs. 1' to 7, but the butt differentiation is reversed.

The stitch cam 360 is mounted on a slid e 5 which permits limited vertical movement of. the cam. There is a horizontal pin 5|2 passing through the slide 5| which pin carries the stitch cam itself. The free end of the pin 5|2 engages in a jaw 5|3 carried on a shaft 5|4 rotatable in a bearing 5|5 on the upper bedplate. This shaft extends radially outward and its outer end carries a bell crank lever 5|6. The lower arm of that bell crank lever is connected to the upper end of a bent thrust bar 462. This thrust bar 462 need not extend down to the main pattern drum, as far as concerns its function with the stitch cam. This function is merely to serve as part of the linkage transmitting to the. stitch cam the selection of the butts on the pattern jacks. For this purpose the bar is connected with a bent lever 5|1 whose other end is rigidly connected to a collar 5|8 on a stationary shaft 5|9 at the lower rear portion of the machine. Unitary with this collar 5| 8 is an upwardly extending arm 520 linked to a rod 52| pivotally connected to the free end of the operating lever 88. These parts are so arranged that when the operating lever is swung radially outward by engagement with the butts 131 on pattern jacks 132, the upper 'end of the vertical arm 520 will be moved outwardly and the end of the bent lever 5|1 associated with the bent thrust bar 462 will swing upwardly, raising that thrust bar. The raising of this thrust bar will turn a bell crank lever 5|6 and its associated shaft 5 4 and jaw 5|3, which will lower the pin 5|2 and the stitch cam 360. When the reading point I 9| of the operating lever moves in towards the surface of the needle cylinder,the vertical arm 520 will swing forward and the bent thrust bar will be ldwered, raising the st tch cam to a position where it will make stitches o! normal length.

In this figure we have shown a somewhat diflerent means of taking the stitch slackening mechanism out of operaltion at the end of the reinforced area. This consists of a thrust rod 463 ca1rylng a horizontal arm 522 underlying the 'operating lever I. The operating lever 33 is movable vertically on the post H!!! and there can be a coiled spring (not shown) inside the collar its cam on the main pattern drum, the arm 522 will raise the operating lever above the level of all the butts 131, 131,n0t only the butts 131 at the lower leva]. but also the butts 131 at the upper 1evei. It might be noted that in this construction the operating lever 15 normally kept in action et a level where it is pressed radially outward by jacks which were not lowered by the drawdown caml 5, and the operating lever swings inward by passing above the jacks which were lowered by that special drawdown cam. This being the reverse of the arrangement in Figs. 1 to 7, when the operating lever is pushed out by a pattern jack butt, the stitch cam is lowered, causing slackening of the stitch. In either case the butt difierentiation controls which wales are slackened. Where the phrase knitting instrumentalities is used in the claims, it is intended to include needles and jacks.

Many variations not departing from the scope of this invention will occur to those skilled in the art. Thusthe invention can be used, if desired, even if there is to be no reintorcing or spiicing of stitches.

What We claim is:

1. In a circular knitting machine, a needle cylinder, stitch-making means associated therewith comprising sinkers and knitting instrumeritalitie5 having butts thereon, in combination with means adapted to cause division of the butts of individual knitting instrumentalities into groups, and other means controlled by said butt division to slacken stitches in Wales corresponding substantially to the butts of one group of instrumentalities.

2. In a circular knitting machine, a needle cylinder, stitch-making means associated therewith comprising needles and jacks in said cylinder, sinkers associated therewith, butts on said jacks and a knitting cam, in combination with means to cause butt division of the jacks into groups, and means controlled by the butt division to give part of the stitch-making means an extra movement whereby the stitches knit on substantially the needles corresponding to one group of jacks are slackened.

3. In a circuiar knitting machine, a needle cylinder, knitting instrumentalities in said cylinder having operating butts thereon, sinkers associated therewith and means to operate said sinkers and instrumentalities to produce fabric, in combination with means adapted to move selected instrumentalities vertically to give butt difierentiation for the making of local splicing, and means controlled by the .diflerentiation in butts adapted to slacken substantially the spliced stitches only.

4. In acircular knitting machine, a needle cylinder, latch needles, s1kers*and a knitting cam adapted to cooperate to produce stitches of one length, said needles having jacks thereunder in said cyiinder, in combination with means adapted to give butt differentiation vertically to the jacks in accordance With a pre-selection of jacks, and other means controlled by thedifiercntiation to slacken stitches locally substantially in accordance therewith.

5. In a circular knitting machine, a needle cylinder, instrumentalities in said cylinder having butts thereon, and sinkers associated With said cylinder, in combination with means controlled by the vertical position of the butts on the knitting instrumentalities to slacken stitches locally by movement of sinkers substantiafly in correspondence to the presence and absence of butts at a given level.

6. In a circu1ar knitting machine, a needle cylinder having needles and jacks independentiy movable therein with butts projecting from the surface of the cylinder adapted to be differentiated into groups as to vertical position, and sinkers associated therewith, in combination With means controiled by difierentiation in jack butt position to slacken stitches locally by increased movement radially of sinkers corresponding substantially to one group of jack butts.

'7. In a circular knitting machine, a needle cylinder, knitting instrumentalities in said cylinder and operating butts on said instrumentalities, in combination with a splicing finger, means for bringing the splicing finger and knitting instrumentalities into and out of yarn engaging position for the making of local splicing, sinkers associated with the knitting instrumentalities and mechanism controlled by the butts of the knitting instrumentalities adapted to slacken the spliced loops by movement of substantially the sinkers corresponding to the instrumentalities making local splicing.

8. In a circular knitting machine, a needle cylinder, knitting instrumentalities in said cylinder having butts thereon, sinkers associated therewith and means adapted to separate the instrumentalities vertically for the purpose of sectional splicing, whereby butt position diiferentiation is produced, in combination With means including a reading member controlled by the levels of the butts of said instrumentalities adapted to cause special movement of the sinkers to cause local slackening of substantialiy the reinforced spliced stitches only.

9. In a circular kn'itting machine, a needle cylinder, needles and jacks therein, the latter having butts projectng from the surface of the cylinder, sinkers associated with the needles and adapted, in cooperation therewith, to produce abric containing stitches of one length, in combination With means adapted to separate jacks vertica1ly for the purpose of local splicing and means adapted to read at a certain 1eve1 the absence of the butts of the jacks thus difierentiated and cause specia1 movement'of associated sinkers so as to produce a different length of stitch on substantially the needles which take the splicing yarn.

10. In a circular knitting machine, a needle cylinder, stitch-making means associated there- With comprising sinkers and other knitting instrumentaiities having butts thereon, in combination With means adapted to cause difierentiatien of the butts of individual knitting instrumentalities, and independent means controlled by said butt diierentiation adapted to cause selected individual instrumentalities in said stitchmaking means to slacken stitches knit on instrumentafits corresponding substantially to one of the groups of butts established by said differentiation.

11. In a circular knitting machine, a needle cylinder, knitting instrumentalities some of which are in said cylinder, and operating butts on a plurality of the instrumentalities in said cylinder. in combination with means adapted to cause division into groups of the butts of individual instrumentalities in said cylinder for the purpose of varying the yarn-taking positions of the instrumentalities, and other means controlled by the butt difierentiati0n to var the movement of other individual instrumentalit1es selectively sub stantiaily according to the butt group division.

12. In a circular knitting machine, a needle cylinder, knitting instrumentalities independently movable therein having butts projecting from the surface of the cylinder, slnkers associated therewith and means adapted to divide the instrumentalities into groups with their butts at difierent levels, in combination with means controlled by the presence or absence of butts at a. given level adapted to cause extra. movement of substantially the sinkers corresponding to one of the groups to slacken the stitches drawn at those sinkers.

13. In a circular knitting machine, a. needle cylinder, knitting instrumentafities slidable therein and having butts thereon, sinkers associated With said knitting instrumentalities and slidable transversely thereof, movable cam means for imparting an abnormal inward movement to certain only of said sinkers, said instrumenlities being arranged for division into vertically differentiated groups, detector means for cooperatien with said butts for detecting the division of. said instrumentalities into groups and movable in response to the presence or absence of butts to impart the aforesaid abnormal inward movement only to, those sinkers corresponding to one 10 of said groups of instrumentalities.

' ALBERT E. PAGE.

HARRY SWINGIHRST, JE.

CERTIFICAIE DE CORRECTION.

Patient No. 2,200,207. May 7, 19Mo.

ALBERT E. PAGE, ET AL. It is hereby certified that errer appears in the pr1nted sfiecification of the above nmbered patent requirifig Correctidn .s fol lows: Page 5, sec- 0nd column, line 8, claim' 13-, aften the word butts insert --t a given level for controlling said cam means--; and thai: the said Letters Patent should be read with this, correction therein that th same ma confrm to the record of the case in the Patent Office.

Signed and sealed th1s 18th day r June, A. D. 191w Henry Van Arsdale, (Seal) Acting Commissioner of Patents. 

